Merriell Allesandro "Snafu" Shelton (January 21, 1922 – May 3, 1993) was a United States Marine who served in the Pacific theater during World War II.

In the book The Marines at Peleliu, 1944--The Bloodiest Battle of the Pacific War, author Bill Sloan describes Shelton as a "whiz at poker, but otherwise his talents involved getting confused, lost, in trouble, and generally fouled up.

Sloan also describes how Shelton gained his nickname of "Snafu" after a fellow Marine asked him how much money he had while they were on a train in Melbourne: "I t'ink I got maybe aroun' two pounds and ten ounces-plenty for some drinks an' poker, eh?"

You're just one big snafu lookin' for a place to happen"[4]He met replacement Eugene Sledge on Pavuvu; and the two saw action under the command of Andrew Haldane during the Battle of Peleliu.

[citation needed] He is buried at the Bowman-Dedon Cemetery, in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana alongside his wife.